Who Knows?
by batman and pigeon
Summary: Six years after the Time Paradox, Artemis receives a startling message from Holly... written by Batman. Please leave a review.


**Disclaimer:**I do not own Artemis Fowl.

**Who Knows? **

It had been six years.

Six long, grueling years since he saw her. Since he touched her lips with his, and gazed into her bi-colored eyes.

Her right eye, the hazel one, would always be a part of her. It was one of her original eyes and it represented who she was. Fierce, loyal, determined- yet warm, caring and friendly. Hazel was who she was, and who she would always be. If someone had asked him which color she reminded him of, hazel would have been the first color to pop into his mind. He would have spoken it softly, eyes closed, chin resting on his chest, as if reminiscing. Then, jerking his head up and bursting his eyes open, he would have screamed it again.

"Hazel!" he would have shouted. "Hazel, hazel, hazel!"

And he would have bellowed this word, this color until he was forced to stop. Although, of course, being the genius he was, he felt that nothing could stop him. Nothing, perhaps, except her. Well, of course she could stop him- they were best friends.

They'd started off as enemies- he'd kidnapped her, and she automatically flipped on the switch labeled 'Resentment'. Yet, over time, she grew to like him- he told her it was called Stockholm syndrome, and then repeated it as they froze together in the Arctic Circle.

This brings him to her second eye.

This eye was actually his. They had switched left eyes in the time tunnel on their way back to Earth, and it worried him.

He felt that his eyes were too cold for her- they were a pale shade of blue. Pale, but icy. There was a little bit of gray mixed in somewhere, and a hint of a darker blue. It, much like her hazel eye, showed determination. But this was a different kind of determination. She was loyal to her people, and was willing to die for them. That was her species of determination. He (and he liked to think of this in past tense, because he believed he was through this stage) had been eager to obtain more riches and add to his family's ever-growing bank account. Actually, they had many bank accounts, a few that his parents did not know about, and he resolved to take care of that shortly.

His point, though, is that this eye does not describe her.

Instead, it describes her relationship with him. Not icy and cold, but friendly. Friendly because it showed that they were close enough to swap eyes and be composed about it. Neither of them shrieked when they found out they had switched their left eyes.

His ring vibrated.

To anyone else, this most likely would have been a very intriguing experience, for rings do not normally vibrate, unless the finger it is sitting on is having some kind of muscle-quake.

Fortunately, his finger was _not_ having a muscle-quake, and this was a normal day-by-day event for him.

The ring wasn't really anything special- just a band with a dark stone, most likely fictitious, in the middle. Nothing exciting. At closer examination, however, one would find that this was not actually an article of jewelry, and was, indeed, a small, technologically advanced fairy communicator.

Not that anyone was actually examining his ring up close or anything.

He was actually a little disturbed to see his ring vibrating, because, although he had already taken it apart and knew how it worked, it had not done so for six years.

Yes, the same six years since he last saw her.

Curious, he lifted his left hand from the piano (he had been playing a most beautiful oeuvre he'd written at age five) and pressed the dark stone in the middle.

Immediately, the ring halted in its' vibrations, and buzzed a little before completely quieting down.

He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. Only one person had this number (well, two actually, but he'd only given the number to one person- the other had hacked into the database of fairy communicator numbers and found it quite easily).

"Artemis?"

The voice startled him, even though he knew it was there. He blinked a few times, closed his mouth, opened it again, closed it, opened it, then spoke.

"Holly."

Not a question. It was a statement. And Holly, who was miles and miles underground, did not hear her name. Instead, she heard Artemis screaming at her, demanding to know where she'd been, and why hadn't she called, and when was he ever going to see her again? She smiled at herself, and at him, knowing that he was far too dignified to ever actually say those things.

"I'm calling because I have some news."

Even over the phone that didn't sound good. Holly winced, knowing she had screwed it up. She'd practiced that line for hours at a time, and it came out sounding so ominous, like the Apocalypse was coming. More accurately, the Mud Men.

"News?" Artemis responded. He was cautious. Having not spoken to Holly for six years, he had no idea what she'd been going through, or if she would break down at any moment. He had to be careful not to upset her.

"Yes, Arty, news."

Holly closed her eyes, and held back a sigh. His nickname sounded so bland on her tongue, like it didn't belong there anymore. And it didn't really- it was her own fault that they hadn't spoken for six years. She'd been in a bad mood that day, and when he called, she hung up on him because she just wanted to crawl into bed and hibernate for a couple of centuries.

"What...kind of news?" Again, he was cautious. You could never be too sure about Holly's actions, even if you saw her daily.

"I'm..."

Artemis frowned. She was tentative. Tentativeness was generally not a good sign when someone told you that they had news.

"I'm getting married."

"...oh."

That was all he could say. He had not been expecting that. Who would have thought that tough Captain Holly Short would ever get married? And who would have guessed that she'd admit it to a Mud Man?

"Um..." Holly's voice trailed off, and her gaze fell until it landed on her engagement ring. It was beautiful, and she loved it, and she loved her fiancée, but something made her nervous. Was it Artemis, or just wedding butterflies? She didn't know, and she couldn't figure it out. Yes, Artemis was her friend, but when she'd kissed him six years ago...

"Congratulations." His voice quivered a little, but he was not angry- nor did he express joy. Holly tried not to think about the kiss, convincing herself that because she'd been a teenager then, that it was just hormones and mixed emotions. But her mind knew better. A little piece of her heart would always belong to Artemis, because she sort of did love him. She just hoped that it wouldn't ruin her future.

"Thank you," she replied stiffly.

He was silent. Then-

"Holly?"

"Yes?"

"I'm still sorry."

"...what?"

"I'm still regretting lying to you, even six years later."

"Artemis-"

"Don't. Don't make me feel worse. I think that it's for the better if...if we just let go. We haven't spoken for six years, and our lives have progressed. We've moved on. And I have a confession to make- I'm also getting married."

"...I...what?" Her voice cracked, and a silent tear slid onto her cheek.

"I don't think it's wise for us to correspond anymore, Holly. You've moved on. I've moved on. The People have moved on. It's not the same down there, is it?"

"No!" she blurted out. "It's...it's not! Everyone's so afraid that...well, because of the major advancement in human technology, the council is certain Haven will be discovered shortly. We've made all the necessary preparations, and we're ready to negotiate. Or fight. Whichever way it goes."

"I see. It's not the same up here, either."

"I'm sure it isn't."

"Things are changing. Times are changing. Everyone's talking about 'going green', but it won't help the planet. We've already done so much damage that I don't think it's possible to go back to how it was. To return to organic."

Holly was silent. She was really crying now, but quietly, so that she could still hear Artemis speak.

"Our race is fading, Holly. We're slowly losing ourselves amidst technology and environmental issues. And people are beginning to realize that. Six years ago, we were aware of what was going on in our world. But...it seemed as if no one really understood. No one grasped that the world would never be the same. We didn't want to believe it. And for a while, we didn't. But, over the years, things changed. Fossil fuels are even harder to come by. The economy is vanishing, everywhere... Machines have taken over almost everything, and the job losses have been great. Our civilization...is dying, Holly."

She didn't speak for a while. She sat on her couch, clutching the communicator in her hand, tears streaming down her face as realization hit her.

He made no noise either. Leaning over the piano, he rested his head in his hands and closed his eyes, wishing he didn't have to say what he just did.

"You're right," she finally said. "The world is almost dead. The human world and the fairy world. I don't want to see us die as enemies, Artemis. But I agree. It is probably for the better...if...we never speak again."

"Is it goodbye, then?"

"Yes...goodbye, Artemis."

"Goodbye Holly."

"Who knows? Maybe we'll see each other again.

"Yes...who knows?"

* * *

**Author's note:**

This little piece was written for a class assignment, inspired by a scene in the Time Paradox, set in the cage of a 400-pound Ugandan mountain gorilla.

Hope you enjoyed it. Please review.


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